Paid Parking Dates Altered In Resort

OCEAN CITY – An extension of the paid parking season was approved at this week’s Mayor and City Council meeting.

Earlier this year, the council agreed to change the date of the opening of the Inlet parking lot and the paid parking on the streets and in other parking lots from April 15 to April 1.

At this week’s meeting, Richard Malone, deputy director of Ocean City Department of Public Works, approached the Mayor and Council about altering the end date of the paid parking season.

“We were making our fall schedules and we realized the last day of paid parking fell on a Friday this year,” he said. “We remembered that in the spring we had adjusted the dates to gain the weekend revenue … we were wondering if the council would change the dates each year so we can gain the most weekend revenue.”

With so many special events occurring in the spring and in the fall, parking can increase the city’s revenue by keeping paid parking open.

“Last year the last weekend the parking lot was open in the fall was car Cruisin’,” Malone said. “The parking lot only made a little over $2,000 but the street parking made $13,000. So you got about $15,000 made in just those two days. … This year the last weekend, the 16th and 17th, the Corvette show is here. On Saturday, they will use part of the parking lot so the other half will be available for public parking and all day Sunday.”

Taking this into consideration, Malone asked the Mayor and City Council to establish the beginning date for paid parking as the first Saturday in April and end it the third Sunday of October each year.

“There is revenue here,” he explained. “There are some expenses. About $500 a day to run the parking lot because of the attendants and supervision, but we will make somewhere between $12,000-$15,000. So, I thought it was worth bringing up.”

The extension of dates will also allow the Public Works Maintenance Division to set up and break down the parking operations on the street and in the parking lots during regular working hours on weekends.

Councilwoman Mary Knight added that starting paid parking even earlier than the first Saturday in April may be a good idea.

“Easter this year was so early, it was in March, and we missed that weekend,” she said. “If we open it the first weekend in April, we are going to miss Easter weekend in year 2013 and 2016. So my suggestion would be to open that last weekend in March.”

By unanimous vote, the council agreed to have paid parking begin on Good Friday of each year and end paid parking at the end of the day on the third Sunday of October of each year. Good Friday next year falls April 22, 2011.

Featured Stories

BERLIN – A historic South Main Street home suffered significant damage during a fire Tuesday afternoon. Five fire companies responded to 414 S. Main St. shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday as smoke poured from the two story structure. Though the fire was quickly brought under control, the home — known locally as the Harvey P…. Read more »

OCEAN CITY — One month after a plan of action called for eliminating most troublesome motorized special events in Ocean City, a task force, appointed by Mayor Rick Meehan, is set to meet for the first time on Thursday. It was standing room only in mid-November when the Mayor and Council received a presentation to… Read more »

WEST OCEAN CITY – The health of Maryland’s coastal bays remained consistent last year, according to a report card released by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) and its partners this week. In 2016, the coastal bay system received a C-plus in an annual report card that was unveiled at the Ocean City Marlin Club… Read more »

Berlin’s 47th Annual Christmas parade attracted a crowd of several thousand who lined the parade route along Main Street to near capacity Thursday night. A total of 83 groups participated in the parade which was sponsored by the Town of Berlin and Berlin Main Street, in cooperation with the merchants of Berlin. The parade is… Read more »